Juror Bias Alleged in Conviction of Man Accused of Killing Child

An appeals court has ordered a hearing to address allegations of juror bias involving the case of a man convicted of killing a 14-month-old child.

Joseph Patrick Simon was convicted in 2008 of second-degree murder and assault on a child causing death for the 2006 slaying of his girlfriend’s 14-month-old son Jayden Bell, who died at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

According to last week's  Fourth District Court of Appeals filing, at the conclusion of the trial, a female juror revealed that the prosecutor had tried a member of her own family.

The new hearing in San Bernardino Superior Court must now determine if the juror was impartial during the trial, according to court documents.

Simon and his girlfriend, Aimee Bell, were arrested in 2006 in connection with the child’s death.

According to court papers, the day the boy was fatally injured he had been ill, suffering from a lack of appetite, lethargy, vomiting and diarrhea.

On Nov. 28, Simon drove the mother and child to a mall where Bell planned to buy work pants, authorities said. Simon took Jayden to a nearby store to buy some disinfectant.

The two returned to the car before Bell. Moments later, however, Simon dialed 911 because the child had stopped breathing, officials said.

Jayden was rushed to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. He died Nov. 29.

The prosecution claimed Simon injured Jayden while they waited in the parking lot. An autopsy showed that the child had been struck in the abdomen, which resulted in bleeding from the liver, the right kidney and the intestine, according to court documents.

Authorities said Jayden also suffered blows to the head and neck that resulted in bleeding in the brain, around the optic nerves and down the neck.

“The force applied to Jayden’s head was equivalent to the force from falling from a height of two stories,” according to the court documents. “Either the abdominal injuries or the head injury could have resulted in death.”

Simon was originally charged with first-degree murder, assault on a child causing death and torture. The jury deadlocked on a charge of torture. Aimee Bell pleaded guilty to child endangerment and was sentenced to two years in prison.

It was after the verdict was entered and the jury was dismissed that juror No. 14, who voted in favor of convicting Simon, approached the prosecutor and asked if she recognized her, officials said. The juror explained that this prosecutor had also tried her granddaughter’s alleged child molester some two years earlier. That case had ended in a mistrial and was to be retried.

The prosecutor quickly informed the trial judge. A court hearing was held the following day to determine the extent of the contact. At the hearing, the court placed the juror under oath. The juror confirmed the details of her conversation with the prosecutor.

The juror told the court she did not disclose her history with the prosecutor with any of her fellow jurors and did not volunteer the information because she “didn’t know how to go about it because 'we were told not to talk to [the attorneys]. And . . . I’m kind of a rookie at this stuff … I didn’t know who to approach without creating -- I just guess I should’ve done it then instead of afterward. In all honesty, that’s my fault.' ”

Following the juror’s testimony, defense counsel moved for a new trial, which was denied at the time.

However, the appeals court found the woman intentionally withheld her information and ordered the new hearing. The original guilty verdict will not be affected if it is found the incident did not influence the final decision against Simon.